Review: Organic and Chic & Giveaway

Summary: "When I bring one of my sweets into the room—whether at a wedding or an intimate dinner party—the expressions on people's faces turn that celebration into a memory I'll never forget. That's what baking should be."

Many people are coming to recognize the merits of eating organic ingredients, but the idea of "organic baked goods" may bring to mind food that is more boring than beautiful and delicious. But in Organic and Chic, custom cake baker Sarah Magid uses her background in jewelry and shoe design to create vibrantly colored, highly original, delicious organic cakes and other desserts that are perfect for all kinds of celebrations.

Filled with gorgeous photographs, Organic and Chic features recipes for delectable baked goods you'll be excited to re-create and serve to family and friends, from modern floral cakes and cupcakes to rustic farmer's-market sweets made with seasonal fruits:

Red Velvet Love Cake frosted with Vanilla Whipped Buttercream and garnished with edible flowers

Vanilla-Bean Butter Cake filled with Sweet Chocolate Ganache and decorated with hand-sculpted butterflies

Minty Strawberry Shortcakes, celebrating the bounty of the summer

Goldies, a tasty tribute to America's favorite cream-filled sponge cake

Whether you're preparing some simple Double Ginger Cookies for a block party or bake sale, or experimenting with a rich and luscious dark chocolate birthday cake, you can be confident that you're serving desserts that are gorgeous and flavorful without resorting to fake, chemical-laden ingredients. Magid offers detailed step-by-step decorating instructions and enough inspiration to help even the most novice baker create bold cake-decorating effects, including eye-popping flowers, hand-sculpted leaves, and metallic-painted brushstrokes.

A must for every health-minded baker, this unique cookbook balances exquisite flavors, organic ingredients, and stunning visuals to help you create your own masterpieces.-- William Morrow

ORGANIC AND CHIC: CAKES, COOKIES, AND OTHER SWEETS THAT TASTE AS GOOD AS THEY LOOK by Sarah Magid is AMAZING! It is absolutely one of the most beautiful cookbooks that I have ever seen. As you can see, the cover photo is just filled with incredible looking desserts; and all of the pictures in the book are just like this. I would actually consider placing this cookbook on my coffee table because it's that gorgeous. Plus, I'd kind of like to have it handy because I really enjoyed looking at all of the recipes and decorating ideas.

Not only is this cookbook filled with beautiful pictures, but there are just loads of yummy-looking recipes. The book starts with recipes for cakes and cupcakes (along with frosting, curds, and filling recipes), then it has a section on cookies and bars, a section on reformed junk food, and one on farmers' market sweets. There is another section that will appeal to a lot of moms titled children's goodies which has easy, cute recipes geared towards little ones. The book ends with a wonderful chapter on Ms. Magid's design techniques along with step-by-step instructions.

I was pleasantly surprised by this cookbook not because of its recipes and photos, but rather because the instructions and explanations were so detailed and clear. The recipes and instructions for decorating were extremely easy-to-follow. Now making my cakes as gorgeous as the ones in the book might be a challenge, but I think that's because of my lack of skill and definitely not the fault of the instructions. And since I am not a regular consumer of organic foods, I loved how Ms. Magid explained the benefits of going organic as well as some name brands for organic baking goods. The last few pages of the cookbook also include explanations of various baking tools and how best to use them. I actually learned a great deal just by reading Ms. Magid's advice.

I absolutely adored this cookbook, and I can't wait to try some of the recipes. Unfortunately, that won't be until after I finish THE GAME ON! DIET later this month. (Although August is the perfect time for me to make cakes, since we will be having three birthday parties over the course of three weekends!) Now that I'm eating so much better, I appreciate how all of Ms. Magid's recipes use organic and natural ingredients --at least be eating "healthier" goodies, right? There is one recipe in particular that I want to try for the "Easiest Chocolate Cake." Not only is the cake vegan, but my little guy can eat it even with all of his food allergies. Of course, there are lots of cakes and desserts that I want to try, especially the "Coco Loco" cake and the "Lovely Lemon Cake."

Sarah Magid currently has a custom cake business in New York City. In her past, she has worked for Tommy Hilfiger, J. Crew, Coach, Liz Claiborne, Frye and Henri Bendel. Her cakes have been featured in some of the most popular magazines including Domino, InStyle Weddings, Brides, and Martha Stewart's The Art of Cakes. With those credentials, it's pretty evident that she has an eye for design!

Ms. Magid has a beautiful website that you must visit. She has some photographs of her cake designs which are sure to amaze you. She also maintains a blog where she shares a lot more pictures as well as addition information about her designs. I swear I could read about her ideas for hours! If you are interested in learning more about Ms. Magid and ORGANIC AND CHIC, then check out this video of Ms. Magid discussing her book and how she gets her ideas:



I am so excited that I have some copies of ORGANIC AND CHIC to giveaway courtesy of Harper Collins! To make this contest a little more interesting, I am going to give away one copy of the book for every 15 entries I receive -- up to five copies. To enter, just leave a comment with your e-mail address telling me what is your favorite type of cake. To double or triple your chances, you can blog and/or tweet about this giveaway with a link back to this post. This contest is open until Thursday, July 30th at 11:59 p.m. EST; and I will notify the winners the following day. This giveaway is open to those of you with U.S. or Canada mailing addresses only -- no p.o. boxes please! I wish you the best of luck because this is one incredible cookbook!